Carleton Place native helps Canadian women’s sitting volleyball team in world championship qualification

SPORTS Oct 19, 2017 Carleton Place Almonte Canadian Gazette

Carleton Place native Anne Fergusson, a member of Canada’s sitting women’s volleyball team has earned an automatic berth to the 2018 World Championships. She will play with the team during the 2017 ParaVolley Pan American Zone Sitting Volleyball Championships for men and women Oct. 26 to 29 in Montreal. – Photo courtesy Volleyball Canada

Canada men’s and women’s sitting volleyball teams will be tested later this month as they attempt to qualify for the 2018 World Championships.

“Both our teams have been training hard all summer in preparation for this event, which is the focus of our 2017 competition season. With a new coaching staff for the men’s program, we have been working to implement a stronger team culture and a new style of play. We are excited to finally be able to put some of our work into practice and evaluate our progress against some of the top teams in our zone,” explained Volleyball Canada sitting volleyball high performance director, Ian Halliday.

The women’s program is looking to build upon their experiences and successes from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

“While most of the 2016 team has returned for the 2017 season, we have added two new athletes that we feel will positively contribute to the team’s performance and provide us with more depth in certain positions,” said Halliday.W

ith only three teams participating in the women’s zonal championship, Canada’s women’s team will receive an automatic berth to the 2018 World Championships. On that team is Carleton Place resident Anne Fergusson.

So this event is an opportunity for us to implement some new systems and strategies against two of the top teams in the world. The team is excited to get back to competing after a long summer of training,” said Halliday.

Hosted by Défi sportif AlterGo, the 2017 ParaVolley Pan American Zone Sitting Volleyball Championships for men and women will take place in Montréal at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard from Oct. 26 to 29.

Teams from the Pan American region will compete for spots at the 2018 World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball World Championships in the Netherlands.

On the men’s side, Canada will compete against Brazil, the United States and Costa Rica with the top two teams qualifying for the 2018 World Championships. The third and fourth place teams from this tournament will hope to qualify through world ranking allocations.

The women’s tournament will feature the United States, Brazil and Canada. With only three teams in the event — and the U.S. already qualified for the World Championships as the Paralympic Games champion — both Brazil and Canada will also qualify for the 2018 World Championships.